I'm sorry that I have been so silent as of late. Work and family life continue to keep me
busy, and it is getting hard to find time for blogging. So, I'd like to take a few minutes to assure
everyone that I'm still alive and well, and that I am in the process of
evaluating certain aspects of my life.
One large part of that is my publishing pursuits.
The last three and a half years of Martinus Publishing has
been an up and down roller coaster.
There have been highs and lows, positives and negatives. It has been a lot of fun a times, and
bothersome as hell at others. I've met
some really great writers, and discovered some amazing talent. Throughout the entire process, I only wished
I could have done more for the great contributors whose work I published.
First, let's get this speculation out of the way
(again). Martinus Publishing is not
closing. I know, some writers keep
asking "if" or "when" I'm going to shut down, and "can
I please have my story back because you, like, aren't publishing it fast enough." Okay, I'm sorry if
that came off as insensitive, but that's how a few writers have come off, and it's also why
several Martinus Publishing anthologies are a few stories short. I try to fit 20 tales in each anthology,
though on occasion I'll have someone pull out for one reason or another, and about half the time it's because they don't realize what it takes to put one of these collections together. I understand their frustration in some cases, especially when
we're talking years between publication, but a few people started getting antsy a few months after their stories go accepted, even before submissions ended
sometimes. You can say I've had the pleasure of working with writers possessed of a myriad of temperaments.
Martinus Publishing is here to stay, but in order for that to happen, I have to
scale back a bit and rethink certain projects.
First of all, any anthology that has not performed well in the past 6
months will be cut. This means that Life
of the Dead, and To Hell with Dante, will both
be discontinued at the end of July. Unless
one of those titles miraculously sells big in the next 60 days, they must be
retired. There's no sense letting them
sit there gathering virtual dust. Others will join them at the end of 2016. No sense carrying around dead weight.
Secondly, I'm afraid I must announce the cancellation of The
Secret Life of Ghosts. This project has
been on the rocks for months, with multiple writers pulling out due to the
understandably long wait. I apologize to
everyone who still has stories pending in this collection. I thought of putting together a shrunken collection,
though I don't believe the anemic volume would make back enough to cover the
cost of cover art, which to date remains uncommissioned.
Third; Altered Europa remains in the works. I still have to find time to give it a proper
editing, and I need to get cover art drawn up, but I want this anthology to
happen. It will be hard, but somehow I
will make it happen. Though it may not
be released until fall/winter. Please be
patient, but if anyone can't wait I'll understand if they want to pull out at
this juncture.
Fourth; I am in full
development for a new "Author Spotlight" series, which will feature a
few of Martinus Publishing's more popular and prolific authors, those I've
worked with for years and feel deserve a solo shot to advertise their
work. Right now, I'm starting out with
two particular writers whose work I always love to read, but I'll be adding
more to the series if the first couple of collections are a success. Stay tuned for more about these special ebook
only collections in the coming months.
So, I hope this has been informative, and as my life
continues to evolve I hope to bring Martinus Publishing back into prominence.
